Newsletter No. 304
News-Analysis
June 14, 2006

 

The following report was produced recently by KUNA, the official Kuwait News Agency.

KUWAIT SHOWS INTEREST IN JAPAN’S SUBWAY SYSTEM

FUKUOKA, Japan, June 10 (KUNA): With Kuwait’s Metro construction project in mind, Kuwaiti Ambassador to Japan Ghassan Al-Zawawi inspected the subway line adopting the world’s most advanced universal design, 900 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. The Nanakuma line is Fukuoka City’s third subway line that began service in February 2005. It connects 16 stations in the course of 12 kilometers and trains run every four minutes during morning rush hour.

Propelled by a linear motor, the Nanakuma Line is the first subway line in Japan with a fully-automatic, or driverless, operational system that is safe and efficient. The subway line, which cost JPY280 billion ($2.4 billion) to build, also takes passengers to the adjacent underground shopping mall, the biggest of its kind in southern Japan. The mall is connected to about 20 nearby buildings and shopping areas, allowing shoppers to shop as they please without worries of bad weather.

“This subway line is showcases state-of-the-art technologies and facilities that ensure full accessibility for everyone, including disabled people, the elderly, pregnant women and children,” said Dr. Masaru Sato, a professor at Kyushu University, who presided over the Design Committee’s meetings for the subway.

All stations are equipped with elevators with easy passage, ticketing machines at low height, double handrails, guide maps with audio response system and Braille tiles. There are spacious toilets tailored for wheelchair users, seriously handicapped persons and mother with infants. “With the world’s most advanced technologies and systems that this subway has provided, disabled and senior citizens can travel in a relaxed and comfortable way,” Dr. Sato told Al-Zawawi.

The Kuwaiti ambassador was also amazed to find that a gap between the train floor and loading platform heights was kept to a minimum, which enables wheelchair users to enter or get out of the train on their own without the wheels of the wheelchair falling into the gap. “This subway is a good example of merging art and technology,” Al-Zawawi praised the use of a universal design that makes the transport system as convenient as possible for all people.

Kuwait’s government has recently formed a ministerial committee to take charge of planning the construction of a large Metro network, in order to end serious traffic congestion problems.